Handling and shipping metal bars.



I I w I IZWX 1 a F. E. NORRIS.

HANDLING AND SHIPPING METAL BARS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 6, I9I5.

LENA 550 Patented Apr. 2, 1918.

WITNESSES 7 INVENTOR FMN NORRIS. F SHARON, PENNSYLVANIA.

HANDLING AND SHIPPING METAL BARS.

monies. 7

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 2, tails.

Application filed J'uly 8, 1915. Serial No. 38,877.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANCIS E Nonms, a citizen of the United States, and resident l of Sharon, in the county of Mercer and I a pile, are fastened and held in assembled or piled position while being handled duringloading and unloading operations, and during shipment thereof from place to place within a railway freight car.

Heretofore it has been the' practice to handle such materials in loose piles, chain slings being employed in lifting the piles of loose bars duringthe loading and unloading operations, and the loose piles being braced within shipped to prevent displacement of the in dividual bars of the piles, and to prevent shifting of the piles within the car.

When loaded in this manner it is a frequent occurrence for the bracing to give way the osition of the piles of bars shifted within t e car during the transportation-of the bars therein, but the individual bars become dislodged and disarranged within the car so as to entail considerable delay in unloading,

glll d this adds materially to the cost of han- Trouble has also been experienced in'stocking the bars and in handling loose piles of the bars in the'loadin and'unloading o erations, on account of the liability of re ative traveling crane or other hoisting apparatus the car in which thev are or break and as a result not only is in handlin the piles of bars during loading and unloa ing operations.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of the novel construction and arrangement of parts shown in the drawing and more .fully described hereinafter, and

specifically pointed out in the appended claim.

Referring now to .the drawing forming art of this specification, Figure 1- is" a perspective view showing the body. of a railwayfreight car loaded-withv piles of bars fastened together in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal side elevation showing a pile of tin or sheet bars as fastened together and suspended from the trolley hookof a traveling crane'or other hoisting apparatus in: accordance with my invention, during the car loading and unloading operations.

Fig. 3 is a sectional end elevationon a larger scale of the pile of bars as fastenedtogether in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 4: is a plan of the eye bar forming part of the fastening means shown in the preceding figures.

Fig.5 is a sectional end elevation, similar to Fig. 3, showing a modified and preferred form of the apparatus used in fastening a pile of bars.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 5.

Fi 7 is a plan of the ,eye bar of Figs. '5 an 6.

In the accompanying drawing, the numeral 2 designates the body of a freight car of the gondola type having sides 3, 3, and ends 4, 4, and loaded with a series of piles 5 of sheet or tin bars, the bars being fastened together in piles and the fastened piles being assembled within the car, in accordance with my invention.

As shown, a series of the flat rolled steel bars 6 form each pile 5, and the bars forming each pile are securely fastened together by the U-bolts or straps? and eye bars 8, generally, two of the .U-bolts and eye bars being Obviously emp oyed in fastening each pile. any desired number may be employed.

In the construction shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the ends of the parallel sides 9, 9, of the straps 7 are screw threaded and have nuts 10 thereon to'fasten the eye bars 8 on the bolts. The eye bars 8 have an opening 11 on each end through which the screw threaded ends of the U-bolts 7 extend and the openings 11, 11, are connected by an integral,reversely curved body which is formed so that the body portion adjacent to each opening 11 is in holding engagement with the top surface of the top bar 6 in a pile of the bars, while the reversely curved portion forms an eye or loop 12 through which the hooks 13 of a lifting chain 14 pass in suspending the piles from the crane hook 15 of a hoisting crane, derrick, or other lifting mechanism.

In preparing the piles 5 for shipment, the bars 6 are stacked with the desired number placed one upon the other, usually by means of a mechanically operating bar piler.

The U-bolts 7 and eye bars 8 are then applied to the piles at convenient points in the length thereof. With the construction of Figs. 3 and 4 the nuts 10, 10, are screwed upon the threaded ends ofthe U-bolts 7 so as to fasten the bars of each pile and form a unit 5 composed of a plurality of bars. The number of U-bolts7 used in fastening the pile of bars together will depend upon the length of the tin or sheet bars and number of these bars in the pile, but ordinarily two of the U-bolts 7 located about as shown will be sufficient. p

In the construction shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, the U-bolt or strap 7is made of a flat bar and instead of having screw threaded ends, each end of the strap 7 is provided with a transverse opening 16. The eye bars 8 have a body portion bent as in the eye bars of Figs. 3 and 4, and integral end portions 17 provided with hooks 18. The hooked ends 18 of this eye bar extend through the openings 16 in the ends of the U-bolts 7 to secure the straps to the pile of bars.

As the piles 5 are formed they are lifted by a suitable hoisting mechanism and are placed in a car 2 for shipment. In loading the piles, hooks 13 on the ends of chains 14 which are suspended from the crane hook 15 of a hoisting mechanism, are inserted in the eyes or loops 12 of the eye bars formed by the reversely bent body ortion thereof, and the piles 5 are readily 1i ed thereby and placed in the car.

A sufficient number of piles 5 are placed within the car to fill the car, or to load the car to its maximum capacity. Ordinarily the weight and height of a pile of bars will be sufficient to prevent tipping of a pile within the car during shipment and the U- bolts will efi'ectively prevent relative disbent eye bars 8 on the U-holts 7, and each pile- 5 is lifted as a unit from the car and deposited in the desired location. The U-bolts maythen be removed and the loose piles of bars are then in readiness be separated and separately removed to a shear or other place of use, or the clamps may be left on the bars for an indefinite time while stocked,

or until such time as it is desired to use the individual bars.

The advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. By the use of my invention the bars are formed in piles of convenient size for, shipment and are securely held in piled position during shipment thereof and while bein handled in loading and unloading. The -holts used in securing the bars in piles form convenient means for slinging the piles from the crane in handling the piles in the loading and unloading operations. Further, by keepin the clamps on the bars in the consignees stock piles greater safety is secured to those working around the same, as the loose piles not infrequently tipple or slide over.

' From the foregoing description, it will be understood that the present invention provides a metallic package made up of a plurality of plates, sheets or bars piled upon one another, such pile of plates, sheets or bars being embraced by a clamp which is in snug engagement with all four sides of the pile, while the clamp is Y rovided with an eye which is designed to e engaged by a hoisting apparatus, whereby the package may be convenlently handled. The clamp, of course,

maintains the plates, sheets or bars of the pile in compact relation so as toprovide a package which may be handled as an entirety and which may be maintained as a package until it is desired to use or have access to the individual plates, sheets or bars, when. the clamp may be conveniently removed, or the cross bar removed and the plates, sheets or bars taken out of the U- shaped clamp.

Modifications in the construction and arrangement of the invention may be made without departing from my invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim In apparatus for handling and shipping flexible metal bars, the combination with a pile of bars, of U-shaped straps embracing ceive the chain hooks of a sling whereby the the pile adjacent to the ends thereof, and piles are lifted in handling the bars in piles. 10 an eye bar detachabl secured to each strap In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set and ooacting therewrth to hold the pile of my hand. bars in assembled relation, said eye bars FRANCIS E. NORRIS.

; having end portions engaging with the U- 'Witnesses:

shape straps and reversely bent interme- C. W. CUNNINGHAM, diate portions forming loops adapted to re- I. G. Samoan. 

